Life-saving garment.



E. M. LUWY.

LIFE SAVING GARMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14. ma.

Putonfed Jan. 14-, 1919.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT orrion.

EMIL M. LOW Y, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO LOWY LIFE SAVING SUIT CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LIFE-SAVING GARMENT.

Application filed March 14, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL M. Lowr, a citizen of the United States, and residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Saving Garments, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to what are known as union life saving garments composed of a body, leg and arm sleeve portions and constructed without an aperture or opening except at the top or neck portion where there is a large opening to permit of the garment being drawn on over the legs and body of the wearer in the manner of a pair of trousers and the insertion of the arms into the arm sleeves; and the object of this invention is to provide a garment of the class specified having front and back, or inner and outer hood members formed in connection with the top body portion of the garment and adapted to be manipulated in such manner as to form a complete head inclosing hood entirely closed, exce t for a face opening at the front, the back hood member being adapted to inclose and to operate in connection with the front hood member when in use and to form a complete head inclosing hood which is water and air tight, or approximately so.

The entire garment is composed of flexible waterproof material, it being understood that said material includes rubber or other waterproof substances, and may include a combination of rubber and fibrous material, and when in use only the face of the wearer is exposed. A particular feature of the invention resides in the form, construction and use of the separate hood members which are interdependent in construction and use, and which form when in use a complete head inclosing hood having a front face opening only, and which conforms to the shape of the head, face and neck of the wearer to form a watertight closure for the entire garment, and with the foregoing objects and others in view, the invention consists in a garment of the class specified, constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

This invention is an improvement on that described and claimed in U. S. application Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1 1, 1919.

Serial No. 222,443.

for Letters Patent Serial No. 192,911 on a life saving garment, filed by me Sept. 24;, 1917, and the improvement described and claimed herein is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which Figure l is a side view showing my improved life saving garment when in use;

Fig. 2 a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the garment only partially prepared for use;

Fig. 3 a plan view of the device as shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 1 a front view showing the device partially prepared for use;

Fig. 5 a partial section on the line 5 of Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 6 a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing only a detail of the device and showing a modification thereof.

In the accompanying drawing only the top portion of the garment is shown and, as in the application hereinbefore referred to, said garment comprises a body portion 10, arm sleeve members 11 and bottom or leg members, the latter being not shown. At the top of the body portion is a front or inner hood member 12 which, excepting the modifications hereinafter described, is the same in all respects as the front hood member in the application hereinbefore referred to, and this front hood member 12 is provided with a front face opening 12, the top of which is split or divided forwardly and backwardly as shown at 12", which operation divides the said front hood member into two similar side portions 12, and said side portions are connected by an elastic in- 'sert 13 which is tapered from the front face opening 12 backwardly and extends backwardly and downwardly to a predetermined point at the back of the front hood member 12 as shown at 13.

At the back top part of the body portion of the garment is a back or outer hood member 16 which is formed from, or consists of, a pouch lo integral with the back of the body portion of the garment or continuous therewith and with the neck part of the body portion of the garment, and this pouch, when extended as shown in Fig. 2, tapers downwardly and inwardly from the point 16 to the point 16, and in the top of the pouch 16 is a continuous opening 19 which extends from the point 16 to the elastic insert at 13 in the front hood member 12, and this constitutes the entrance opening of the garment and which permits of said garment being drawn on over the legs and body portion of the wearer, and with this construction it will be seen that the top side portions 16 of the back hood member 16 are continuous with the side portions 12 of the front hood member 12.

The tops of the side parts 16 of the back hood member 16 are connected in the construction shown and approximately centrally thereof by an elastic strap 17 which is vulcanized or otherwise secured to said parts 16 and the pouch 16 from which the hood member 16 is formed opens into the top body part of the body portion of the garment from the point 16 upwardly or, in other words, the top body portion of the garment communicates with the pouch 16 from the point 16 upwardly to the neck part of the garment, and the side walls of the garment are continuous from the point 16 of the back hood member 16 to the face opening 12 in the front hood member 12 as hereinbefore described.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the side parts 12 of the front hood member 12 are adapted to be connected at the back bottom part of said hood member by any suitable fastening device 20 which may consist of a button and a buttonhole, or of a metallic clasp or securing device of any preferred construction,and in the use of my improved life saving garment it is drawn on over the feet, legs. and body, as herein described, after which the arms are passed into and through the arm sleeves 11, after which the side parts 12 of said hood member are connected at the back by the fastening device 20; after which the front hood member 12 is adjusted on the head and drawn down into proper position, after which the pouch 16 or the back hood member 16 formed from said pouch is drawn forwardly as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4 and adjusted to the head, and in this operation the side portions 16 of the back hood member 16 are drawn forwardly and around the neck of the wearer, after which the side parts of the elastic strap 17 are crossed, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4:, to form a loop which is passed backwardly over the head and around the neck as shown in Fig. 1. My invention, however, is not limited to the use of an elastic strap 17, and separate parts of any kind or class may be substituted for said elastic strap, and these substitute straps may be passed around the neck and tied at the front in any desired manner.

In the operation of drawing the back hood member 16 forwardly and the side portions 16 thereof around the neck, as above described, so as to inclose the head of the wearer and the front hood member 12, the side walls or parts 16 of the back hood member 16, or the pouch from which said hood member is formed, are folded forwardly to form folded flaps 16 as clearly shown in Fig. 5, and in said operation the continuous side walls of the front hood member and the back hood member fold so as to securely close the entrance opening 19 against the entrance of water into the garment, and the two hood members, as thus formed and applied, constitute a complete hood or covering for the head with the exception of theface, and this operating in connection with the person of the wearer forms practically a closure device for the garment which excludes the entrance thereto of air or water when said garment is in use, and it will be understood that the elastic insert 13 in the top of the front hood member 12 facilitates this operation Very materially, and permits of the front hood member being-made to closely fit the head and to close the face opening therein around the face of the wearer, which operation or use is also facilitated by the method of constructing and applying the back hood member as herein described.

In the construction shown in Fig. 6, the front hood member 12 is provided with two fastening devices 20 by which the separate parts thereof are connected at the back of the head, and any desired number of these fastening devices may be employed and by the use thereof that part of the entrance opening 19 which is closed by drawing forward and folding and securing the back hood member 16, as herein described, is made shorter and the front hood member is more securely closed as is also the opening 19, as will be readily understood, and in the operation of applying the separate hood members, as herein described, a complete head inclosing hood is formed, the only opening therein being the face opening 12 and the entire head of the wearer is inclosed at all points excepting said face opening by material which snugly fits the head and the neck of the wearer and prevents the entrance of water into the garment, as herein set out, and this result is also facilitated by the fact that the wearer of the garment, when said garment is in use, will be supported with his head, neck and the top part of his body out of water, and in this connection it must be borne in mind that, in practice, the body part of the garment or the top portion thereof will be provided with float or buoyant padding in the manner of other garments of this class and samples of which are shown in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,180,839 issued Apr. 25, 1916; 1,002,912, Sept. 12, 1911; and 1,044,652, Nov. 19, 1912,

said material consisting of kapok, finely divided cork, or other suitable substances, but as this material forms no part of this invention the same is neither shown nor described, its application and use to garments of this class being well known and understood.

From the foregoing description it will be seen'that the hood members 12 and 16 form not only a complete head inclosing hood but also the neck portion of the garment.

With this improvement as with that shown and described in the application hereinbefore referred to, practically the entire weight of the garment including the lead or other weightswhich are customarily fitted to the feet of the garment is carried by the head of the wearer, or said garment is suspended from the head of the wearer, and there is an absence of any tendency to choke the wearer by reason of the method of closing the hood members around the neck, which tendency is present in constructions of this class where the garment is suspended from p and secured around the neck only.

It will also be noted that my improvement does not involve the use of buttons, clasps, hinges and other metal fastening devices, the only thing of this kind shown being the fastening devices 20 and if metal is employed for this purpose non-corrosive material of this class will be used.

Another advantage of my improvement is found in the fact that when constructed, as shown and described, the garment may be put on, or applied to the wearer when necessary in the shortest possible time, and this is frequently a very important element to be considered, and in order to facilitate this operation the entire garment, including the body portion, legs and arm sleeves is made large and the garment may be drawn on over the usual clothes which may be used, or with which the wearer may be provided at the time that the garment must be used, and the separate leg members are not a necessary element to my improvement and the bottom part of the garment may be made in other forms in order to facilitate its use by members of both sexes.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A union garment of the class described provided at the neck portion thereof with an entrance opening and a plurality of hood forming devices one of which is adapted to inclose the head and is provided with a face opening and is divided forwardly and backwardly of the top thereof into two side portions connected at the top by an elastic insert and another of which is adapted to be drawn on over the one having said insert and to fully inclose the same and the head of the wearer except said face opening, said hood members being adapted to form a complete head inclosing hood and to close said opening.

2. A union garment of the class described provided at the neck part thereof with an entrance opening and with inner and outer hood members, said inner hood member being divided forwardly and backwardly of the top thereof into separate side portions connected by an elastic insert and the outer hood member being adapted to be drawn on over the head of the wearer and the inner hood member and to be closed around the neck so as to form a complete head inclosing hood and to close said opening.

3. A life saving union garment of the class described provided with an entrance opening and inner end outer hood members, the inner hood member being divided forwardly and backwardly of the top thereof into separate similar side members connected at the top thereof by an elastic insert and the outer hood member being adapted to be drawn on over the head of the wearer and over the inner hood member and being provided with side portions which are adapted to be drawn forwardly and around the neck of the wearer and secured so as to close said opening.

4. A union garment of the class described provided at the top thereof with an entrance opening and two hood forming members, one of said hood members being divided forwardly and backwardly of the top thereof to form two similar side portions which are connected at the top thereof by an elastic insert and provided back of said insert with fastening devices, and the other hood member being adapted to be drawn on over the head of the wearer and over the hood member having the elastic insert and the side portions thereof being adapted to be drawn around the neck of the wearer and to be secured so as to form in connection with the hood member having the elastic insert a complete head inclosing hood and to close said opening so as toexclude water from said garment.

5. A union life saving garment of the class described provided with an entrance opening and with front and back hood forming members, the side walls of which are continuous, the front hood member being divided forwardly and backwardly of the top thereof to form two imilar side portions connected at the top by an elastic insert and at the back by fastening devices and the back hood member being adapted to be drawn forwardly and to inclose the head of the wearer and the front hood member and the side portions thereof being adapted to be drawn forwardly and around the neck and secured so as to form a complete head inclosing hood and to close said opening.

6. A union garment of the class described provided at the neck part thereof with an entrance opening and with inner and outer hood members the adjacent faces of which are open, the side walls of said inner and outer hood members being continuous and said inner hood member being divided forwardly and backwardly of the top thereof to form separate side portions connected by an elastic insert, and the other hood member being adapted to be drawn on over the head of the wearer and over the inner hood 1nemher and the side portions thereof being adapted to be drawn around the neck of the wearer forwardly and to be secured so as to close said entrance opening.

7. A life saving garment of the class described provided with enlarged neck portion forming an entrance opening, said entrance opening being provided with oppositely arranged inner and outer hood men1- bers and the inner hood member being divided forwardly and backwardly to form oppositely arranged side portions connected by an elastic insert, and the outer hood mem her being adapted to be drawn forwardly and over the head of the wearer and over the inner hood member and the side portions thereof to be drawn around the neck of the wearer and to be secured and to operate in connection with the inner hood member, the neck portion of the garment and the person of the wearer to close the entrance opening.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 11th day of March, 1918.

E'MIL M. LOW Y. Witnesses:

C. E. MULREANY, H. LINDENBAUM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Fatents,

Washington, D. G. 

